NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – More than 700 people made the long journey up 55 flights of stairs to the top of One Penn Plaza on Saturday to raise money for research into lung disease.
NYPD Officer Brian Kelly told WCBS 880 he had a companion as he climbed all 1,210 steps of the building near 33rd Street and Eighth Avenue in Midtown: his mother, who passed away from lung cancer just six months ago.
“Thinking about her getting me through it, made getting to the top all that much better,” he said.
He said it was a journey up the 1,200 steps – both mentally and physically.
“I'm used to running, so I kind of took the beginning running up the steps, and by like the eighth floor, I realized you can't run up these steps any longer,” Kelly said.
That’s the main advice from the American Lung Association’s Jeff Seyler.
“Pace yourself,” he said. “You feel great for the first 10 floors or so – save it for the end.”
Saturday’s event is for charity – Seyler expects to raise almost a quarter-million dollars – but it’s also an insight into the struggles people with lung problems face every day.
“People who are climbing the stairs are literally feeling some of the effects of lung disease,” Seyler said.